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- >"Aright. Up. Both of you. We've arrived."
- >you rub your eyes and sit up
- >the caravan's captain stands in front of you, pointing off the wagon
- >you're in a city of some sort, and as you look around, your brother Ire sits up and yawns, scratching his head
- >"We can't have dead weight around here. Off, both of you."
- >your brother's eyes widen
- >"You seriously aren't going through with this, right? Does our father's memory mean nothing?"
- >the captain sighs
- >”His memory isn't going to bring jack shit back at the end of the day. Just like you two."
- >he tosses a bag of bits at you
- >it collides with your head, knocking you to the floor
- >you pick it up and hold it close, looking between your brother and the captain with tears in your eyes
- >you'd been on the caravan all your life
- >your father caught some illness, Quix wouldn't say what, and passed
- >apparently he was all that was keeping you on there, because the captain turned on you both
- >of course, you knew this day was coming, but...
- >now that it was actually here, you didn't know what to do
- >your brother's face is contorted with rage, his hoof twitching near his pistol
- >"Don't try anything."
- >the captain says, catching your gaze and following it to his hoof
- >your brother lets out a sigh and relaxes in defeat, taking the bits from your hooves
- >"C'mon Silver…”
- >he says angrily, storming off into the streets
- >you hop off the wagon and follow in his hoofsteps, off into a bustling land of skyscrapers
- >from behind, you hear the captain's voice
- >"Good luck out there... You'll need it. Both of ye."
- >your brother leads you through the city for a time
- >you get your crying under control and eventually start to wonder where he’s leading you
- “Ire? Where are we going?”
- >”I don’t know…”
- >he pulls into an alley and sits down, slumping against the wall
- >”I… I don’t know Silver.”
- >he clenches his eyes shut, slamming his hoof into the ground
- >”S-Silver? Do you know where we are?”
- >he says through clenched teeth
- >you back away a little
- >you look around the city
- “I don’t… Where are we?”
- >you say, a bit fearful
- >he grits his teeth and lets out a long breath
- >”Dire Silver… Dire…”
- >you think for a second, the name rings a bell
- “Isn’t that the bad city?”
- >he nods, then looks to the bag
- >he pulls it open and pours out the bits inside
- >he counts them, then chucks the bag to the floor
- >”50… Fucking cheapskate. How are we going to live on 50 fucking bits!”
- >he holds his head in his hooves and slumps to the floor
- >you sit down next to him and put your hoof around him
- “Come on… At least we have each other!”
- >he sits back up and looks at you
- >his eyes are shining, and you can see a bit of damp fur around the edges of his eyes
- >his lip is quivering, but it slowly turns to a smile
- >”Y-Yeah… You always know how to cheer me up. Bright ball of sunshine you are…”
- >he sighs
- >”I guess we’re going to have to get jobs… Can you handle that?”
- >you nod
- >”Well, I don’t mean like on the caravan, I mean real jobs. Physical labor.”
- “I guess I could panhandle, like we do in other cities.”
- >Ire laughs a little, wiping his eyes
- >”I doubt you’d get far with that here Silvy… And I don’t exactly feel too good about throwing you onto the streets of this place. You’re what, 13? I don’t want you to get kidnapped, or worse.”
- >you pout
- “I-I’m a big pony now. I can handle myself, don’t baby me.”
- >he chuckles again
- >”Sure… Sure…”
- >he looks to the sky
- >”What do we do now? I guess we have to find somewhere to sleep."
- >you look around, ponies rushing by on the streets
- “Why not here?”
- >you look down the alley
- >it’s rather small and ends in a sandstone wall
- >some junk lies discarded in the sand, and you run over to rifle through it
- >there’s a couple crates, and you grab three of them
- >you put the biggest one down and put the others next to it
- “This is our table…”
- >you grab some stray pieces of wood and stack them to make a small wall, fencing off a corner
- “We’ll sleep here, behind this little wall. The sand is a bit hard, but I’m sure we can find a mattress somewhere. Until then, we can sleep on the sand! It’ll be like that time we slept under the stars with dad!”
- >your brother laughs
- >”Do you think this is some kind of make-believe fairy tale? We need an actual place, not just some trash and the sand.”
- >you sigh, looking over to the small structure you erected
- “I know… I just… I wanted to do stuff like dad did.”
- >a hoof tussles your mane
- >you slap it off, and glare at your brother
- “I told you to stop that!”
- >he giggles and waves to you
- >your brother leads you out of the alley on a quest for housing
- >however, everything seems out of your price range and no pony is willing to give a discount
- >after your fifth try, the two of you sit on the doorstep of your previous endeavor
- >the sun is getting low in the sky, starting to fall behind the tops of buildings
- >they start to cast shadows over the streets, throwing you into an erie twilight
- “Are we ever going to find a place Ire?”
- >he hugs you
- >”Of course Silvy… Of course…”
- >he lets out a sigh
- >”I miss everyone Silver…”
- “Back on the caravan?”
- >he nods
- >”You realize we’re probably never going to see them again… Fresh and Junebug… Quix and Marty… F-Fuck, Ruby…”
- >he hangs his head
- >”I had forgotten about Ruby… I didn't even say goodbye! Just stormed off like an idiot...”
- >your brother’s being a dramatist, you’ll surely see them again
- >they have to come back to the city someday
- >right?
- >your brother stands up
- >he’s visibly shaken and starts to walk, head towards the ground
- “H-Hey! Wait up!”
- >you call after him, running up beside him
- >his eyes are clenches shut and his breath is going in and out in quick hiccups
- “Are you okay? You’ll see Ruby again, trust me!”
- >you smile up at him
- >no response
- >maybe he just didn’t hear you
- “Ire, are you okay? I-I’m a bit w—“
- >he whirls around
- >”No, I’m not! Don’t you fucking get it Silvy? We don’t have anywhere to go! This city is a hell hole, that’s what dad told me… It’s going to be night soon, and we’re going to get robbed… or killed… or worse!”
- >he shouts through tears, eyes ablaze
- >you stand still like a deer in headlights
- >he slaps you with a hoof and pushes you away
- >”Go away you little shit! I just want to be left alone..."
- >you stare back up at him
- >Ire got angry a lot, but he had never…
- >he’d never hit you before
- >normally he kept his emotions somewhat in check, but now you feel something has changed
- >a bit fearful, you stand up and rub your cheek, then begin to back away
- "A-Alright... I'll leave you alone..."
- >you say as you trudge away, not looking back
- >you find yourself in the market, ponies bustling around you and clearing their shops for the night
- >your brother just needs to cool off for a few hours
- >he'll be fine
- >he was always fine
- >an idea catches in your mind
- >if you could find the caravan and get Ruby to come with you, Ire could say his goodbyes!
- >that'd make him happy, right?
- >you run to where the caravan had set up, only to have your hopes dashed
- >there is no caravan there, only lines in the sand
- >you sit down and stare at them, gazing at the tracks leading out of the market and out of sight
- >ponies rush around you, making frantic last sales before they close for the night
- >the tracks are kicked away over time, and as the sun disappears, you're left sitting, staring at nothing
- >someone taps you
- >"Shouldn't you be home this time of night?"
- >you turn around
- >an older stallion with a beard is standing behind you, carrying a tent and hauling a wagon
- >he's one of the last ponies left, everyone else has left for the night
- >you look up into his eyes, tears clouding your vision
- "I-I don't have a home... Not anymore..."
- >the stallion's face falls, then softens
- >"Orphaned, huh? Well... Here. You'll need something to protect yourself with. I did."
- >he reaches into his cart and pulls out a knife and hands it to you
- >it's a switchblade, the handle concealing the blade inside
- >you flick it open and look down, the blade glinting in the last light of the day
- >you smile up to thank the stallion, and he gives you a smile in return
- >then, he walks off into the night, whistling a tune as his cart clatters along behind him
- >after a moment of examining the knife and wiping your eyes, you stand up and look around
- >there's nopony but you standing in the market
- >the sun is gone behind the buildings, but strains of light still show through
- >you sigh and trudge out, heading back to the alley you had built your "homestead" in
- >the words "trash and sand" echo in your mind
- >as you round the corner, you see your brother with his pistol in his muzzle, sitting against the wall and staring down the barrel
- >he cocks it and closes his eyes
- >on impulse, you run over and kick it from his mouth
- >it pops out and slides a little as it falls into the sand
- >your brother is a bit shocked, looking from you to the gun
- >then, he grabs you and pulls you into a hug
- >"Silvy! You came back! I-I'm a shitty brother... P-Please forgive me Silvy, please!"
- >he pleads into your ear
- >you don't respond, standing in shock
- >"S-Silvy? I-I'm so sorry, I just got mad and I... It's all impulse Silvy, I didn't mean any of it."
- >then, after another short pause, he releases you and looks to the gun, then back into your eyes
- >"I'm sorry I hit you..."
- >he says in a very small voice
- >you pull him into a hug
- "Of course I forgive you. Y-You don't need to shoot yourself, what are you, crazy?! J-Just don't do it again."
- >you say, feeling a bit hysterical as his recent intentions register
- >he nods, pressing his face into your fur
- "Promise?"
- >he looks at you with watery eyes, a dopey smile plastered across his features
- >"Promise."
- >the two of you sit in the alley, backs against the cool wall as the moon rises above
- "So... What were you saying about trash and sand?"
- >you jab at him, still feeling a bit hurt about his comment
- >he sits in silence, gazing longingly towards the moon
- >"At least we have each other."
- >he says weakly, eyes darting back to the pistol halfway buried in the sand
- >you stand up and tap his shoulder
- "Come on. Let's get some rest."
- >you walk through the sand over to your makeshift bed and lie down on the sand, staring up into the bright full moon above
- >Ire lies down next to you, wrapping his hooves around your chest and placing the gun above his head, pointed towards the wall
- >"It's going to get cold tonight... We don't have any blankets."
- >you nod
- "It's fine."
- >he rubs your hair and your nose scrunches in annoyance
- >he chuckles at your displeasure, then looks to the sky
- >"Want me to show you the constellations again?"
- >you sigh
- >maybe everything is going to be alright
- "Sure..."
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